Mal and River: A story in 10 nonrelated parts
by psycholizard
Summary: The meme: pick a fandom/pairing that you like. Set your mp3 player to shuffle. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You have until the end of the song to finish the drabble. Do ten of these and post. Each chapter is a separate one-shot.
1. Requiem for a Dream

**Requiem for a Dream – Orchestra version (6:34) _Clint Mansell_**

She knew what had to be done. There was no doubt in her mind. They saved her so many months ago. Now she must save them, save her family. Simon, Inara, Zoe, Kaylee, Jayne.

Her Captain.

Now it was her turn.

"My turn."

She ran towards the fray, legs pumping hard beneath her, carrying her to the chaos waiting. She would not go quietly into the night. She would not let _them_, her family go quietly in the night.

She would fight for them. She would do what she had been trained to do, but would do it on her terms, for her own people.

One, two, three. Then she must jump. It had to be perfect or they might all die. She sized up the opening as she ran and then she was there.

In the middle. In the chaos.

Simon's bag.

Close the door.

Now fight.

One, two, three. Turn, fight, twirl, down, metal clashing against metal, flesh tearing. Blood pouring.

Her opponents were tangled and snarling, no doubt thirsty for the taste of her flesh. But they would not get it. No, she would fight. This is what she did, after all. This was what they trained her for.

They trained her to kill.

So now she did, but on her own terms. For her own life. For their life. For her family. Now and always, she would fight for them and not her creators.

One, two, three. Chaos chosen. Chaos vanquished.

Doors open.

They are safe until the uniforms come. She will kill the uniforms, for the sake of her family. They will not be caught. Not by the chaos, not by the order. They will live their life free.

"Stand down."

Must she? Her Captain is there, before her.

"Stand down."

She sees his eyes. She sees his fear. She is not his fear. She will not be his fear. And so she relaxes.

She looks at him and he looks at her. There is no fear. There is only family.

Her family is safe.


	2. Anyone Else

**Anyone Else – Juno soundtrack (2:58) _The Moldy Peaches_**

"You're not quite right, you know."

"That's the popular theory."

Mal smiled down at the young girl before him. She was so young, so naïve, but not as innocent as she would have them believe.

She was beautiful.

River looked up at her Captain. He was innocent in more ways then he would let on. But he was strong and his strength carried her through her hard times. Simon would hate it, but one day all she would need would be him.

He watched as she smiled back up at him. The stars lit up her face and gave it a glow unlike anything he had seen before.

It was either the stars or the freedom.

She was like him in many ways. She needed the Black and what it brought.

Had the EVA suit not been in the way, this would have been the perfect moment to brush a stray hair, real or imagined, from her forehead.


	3. Woman in Love

**Woman in Love – Bon Jovi (3:48)**

Mal had had his fair share of girls. Young girls and older ones. Experienced and not. Rich, poor, gold diggers, and innocents. You could even say he had loved a few of them.

One thing he thought knew, there was nothing better then when that girl loved you too. Didn't matter if she loved you for your money (he did have some once) or your looks. Didn't matter if she loved you for body or your charm. It was always better when she loved you for something and he took advantage of that.

Yep, before the war Mal had a lot of girls alright. But after it all ended, he needed a woman.

See, the difference between a girl and a woman is that she loves you for you. Didn't matter that he didn't have money anymore. Didn't matter that he fought for the losing side. Didn't even matter that he wasn't exactly what one could consider romantic. Because if that woman loves you then you can move the whole 'verse for her.

His daddy always said that when he finally met a woman, he should scoop her up and settle down with her. Girls are a dime a dozen, but a woman is a diamond.

The day River fought the Reaver's for her family made him realize something. River wasn't a girl anymore, she was a woman.

See, Mal had a lot of girls, but the moment he saw her sitting in the cockpit of his ship, setting a course for the Black, he knew River was the woman for him.


	4. Bed of Roses

**Bed of Roses – Bon Jovi (6:34)**

Mal sat on a barstool, nursing a hard drink while the rest of his crew was enjoying their night out. He was alone but not by choice.

No, his choice was currently being swung around the dance floor by a boy not even worthy of her glance. He had half a mind to go up to the couple and cut into the dance, but he was too drunk to stand up much less dance the night away with a girl half his age.

He was too drunk to do what he really wanted to do.

Not that he didn't want to. It was all he had been thinking about and it was what made him want to get drunk in the first place. The realization that she was what he wanted but could never have was too much so he reached for a substitute. The hard liquor was a poor mistress, but she would have to do.

He watched as the boy leaned in and whispered something into her ear. He watched as she tilted her head back and laughed, her expression joyful. He watched in pain and wished it was him that put the smile on her face but he knew it never would be. There were lots of reasons. He was too old and too weary. A mean and hardened criminal.

But the reality was that he just wasn't good enough for her.

Knocking back the rest of his drink, he pushed himself away from the bar and stumbled outside in a drunken haze. Somehow he made it back to the ship in one piece and stumbled into the common area where he collapsed on the couch.

A sound in the doorway made him look up and he saw River standing there, watching him with a sad look on her face. She had followed him out of the bar.

"What happened to whats-is-name?" he slurred. River just shrugged.

"Tha's good," he said. "You should go to bed. I's late."

River nodded and turned, pausing slightly to look at him.

"Would have said yes," she said quietly before she left. Mal quickly sobered at her statement.

He could have had her tonight but now it was too late.


	5. Last Kiss

**Last Kiss – Pearl Jam (3:10)**

It wouldn't happen like this.

It couldn't happen like this.

He won't let God do this to him.

She was the best thing that happened to him and now she was slipping. Why? Why didn't she see this? How could she let this happen?

Why did he insist on bringing her here? She didn't want to go and he should've taken that as a hint. Why didn't he insist that they stay on the ship?

Why did God let this happen tonight of all nights?

Tonight was supposed to be special. He had it all planned out and had done it all secretly so she wouldn't know.

He looked up from his position on the floor. The man standing above him had a gun pointed at his head. Wordlessly, Mal handed over the precious stone to him.

He watched as the man added it to the loot his posse had lifted from the people in the restaurant. He watched as the ring he had just placed on River's finger was stolen by the man who had killed her.


	6. Hey there Delilah

**Hey There Delilah – Plain White Tees (3:52)**

Hey there River,

Hope this letter finds you well. I got that picture you sent me of you and the baby. She sure has grown and is lookin' more like her mama every day. I'm so proud of both my gals.

I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me too. But I know Simon and Zoe are taking good care of you and our daughter. It'll only be a few more years before I get outta this joint and then we'll be together.

The boys here laugh at me, but I think they're secretly jealous that I gots such a pretty girl waiting for me on my ship.

I love you and I can't wait to see you. Two more years, sweetheart.

Your husband, Mal

225-7649E

Osiris Federal Penitentiary


	7. Can I go nowhere with you?

**Can I Go Nowhere With You – Joel Plaskett (3:01)**

River frowned. She was bored. Kaylee was with Simon. Jayne was polishing his girls. Zoe was engaging in grief therapy with Inara.

Mal popped into her peripheral view.

"I say you and I go do something." River cocked an eyebrow.

"Ain't saying it has to be much," he continued. "But unless I'm mistaken, you ain't doing much and neither am I. This planet's too pretty to be doing nothing unless you wanna do nothing together."

River didn't answer. She simply regarded her surroundings and nodded once.

A few hours later, they stumbled back onto the ship. River's frown had turned into a smile and she was laughing heartily at a joke Mal had cracked.

"Wanna do something another time? Go somewhere else?" he questioned, taking her hand and smiling down at her.

"How about we go nowhere and do nothing?" she replied as she stood on her tip toes and tilted her face toward him. Mal leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers.

"I like going nowhere."


	8. Long, long time ago

**Long, long time ago – Javier Naverette (Pan's Labyrinth soundtrack) (2:14)**

The darkness was a comfort. The others didn't understand it. They thought she was hiding, but she wasn't.

She didn't want to be alone but she had no choice. The dark calls unto the dark.

The light shone into her dark corner and a face came into view.

"Hey there, River," Mal's strong voice broke through her reverie.

Whimpering, the girl buried her face into her hands. She wanted the dark. It was a comfort after all the horrible things she had done.

She wanted the dark because she was dark.

But he always insisted on bringing in the light.

A hand stretched out, reaching for her, pulling her away from the darkness.

Pulling her into the light.


	9. Simple man

**Simple Man – Lynard Skynard (5:56)**

He loved the Black. He loved his ship, even if she was kept together with spit and glue. He believed in justice and doing what was moral, even if he didn't always do what was right.

He believed in what his mama always told him. Fight and fight hard for what he wanted. She told him to take his troubles as they come to him. She told him to live a good life and go after what he wanted.

"Son," she told him. "You know what you need to do. Go and do it. Don't matter what others say, you gotta do what the good Lord has called you to. And after you're done, go and get yourself a woman. Settle down with her, raise some babies, and live the life that you want to live."

Problem was, he didn't know what kind of life that was.

He thought he would never be finished fighting. Thought he would always be going after another job, trying to find another way to get back at the Alliance. Never thought he would be content and happy.

Fact is, he didn't much like himself after the war. Didn't like what he had become. Didn't like losing his faith. Didn't like losing his mama. Didn't understand all that had happened in the 'verse. So he thought he didn't deserve the kinda life his mama talked about.

He watched River as she sat on their bed, gentle singing to their unborn child. It still amazed him that she loved him, even with all he was. He was a complex kinda guy, after all.

"You're not complex," River's voice interrupted his thoughts. "You're everything your mama wanted you to be."


	10. Moon River

**Moon River – Breakfast at Tiffany's (Henry Mancini) (2:43)**

He watched her dance, floating like a butterfly across the cargo bay. She was so beautiful. So graceful.

Without thinking, he stepped out from his hiding place by the door and moved in front of her. She stopped in surprise and looked up at him.

He reached down and took her hands in his. With a light motion that betrayed previous teaching, he began to twirl her around the room.

She was an angel, beautiful and serene as she looked up at him. He gazed down and became lost in her brown eyes. Without thinking, he stopped waltzing her around the cargo bay and instead they both swayed softly to the silent song.


End file.
